New WTC PATH Platform Unveiled

A man sweeps the floor after the unveiling of a new platform for the New Jersey PATH Train at the World Trade Center Tuesday.

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The first platform of the new World Trade Center PATH station officially opened Tuesday, providing commuters a first glimpse at part of the transportation hub that has been a controversial focal point of downtown redevelopment.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the World Trade Center site and operates the PATH rail system between Manhattan and New Jersey, unveiled Platform A of the new station on Tuesday morning.

The new station will eventually replace the interim station currently serving riders at the World Trade Center and will feature new escalators and elevators, as well as modern lighting, illuminated signs and public address systems, the authority said.

The station is the centerpiece of the approximately $4 billion transportation hub project, which will eventually include an airy main hall designed by architect Santiago Calatrava and subterranean connections west to offices and retail across West Street, and east to connect with nearby stations of the New York City subway.

A woman rides an escalator down to a new platform for the New Jersey PATH Train at the World Trade Center Tuesday.

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The Port Authority is opening the hub in phases as the skeleton of the “oculus” that will hover over the main transit hall continues to rise. The building is scheduled for completion in 2015. The West Concourse, linking the temporary PATH station to the complex at Brookfield Place, opened last year.

The transit hub’s completion will mark the end of a contentious, costly and delayed construction process.

New York State and Port Authority officials first requested funding for a permanent PATH station from the federal government in 2003.

In 2005, the Federal Transit Administration projected that the transit hub would cost $1.92 billion, be covered entirely by federal funds, and be in operation by 2009. In practice, construction has moved slower and costs have risen far above early estimates, requiring amendments to Mr. Calatrava’s original design.